Yesterdays Gone: SEASON TWO (THE POST-APOCALYPTIC SERIAL THRILLER) (Yesterday's Gone)

about what’s happened, Mary.”
    “Does that mean you know what happened?”
      John said, “You mean what’s happening now, or what happened a few minutes back when our buddy Desmond was waving a gun in the air, a gun he shouldn’t have had. Brother Rei will want to know where it came from. Safety is the most important consideration for everyone at The Sanctuary, after all.”
    “Yes,” Mary agreed, “especially for Desmond right now. I’m sure that after what happened to Rebecca turning up ice blue in a box, and Carl, who no one has seen for days, you can appreciate my concern.”
    John’s face softened, though it was closer to the jelly of missing emotion she’d seen since arriving at The Sanctuary, rather than the simmering sorrow she’d known during their time at the Drury Inn.  
    “I need to know what you know, John. Please, I deserve it. You know that’s true.”
    “I’m really sorry, Mary, but I really, truly don’t know anything. Desmond is with Brother Rei right now, probably getting questioned. I promise I’ll do everything in my power to make sure Desmond’s punishment isn’t harsh. He was only acting to save the child, after all. Everyone could see that.”
    Mary said thank you, then turned her back to John. She wanted to ask if she could see Rebecca, but didn’t want to push it. She hadn’t seen her, or her mother, Sarah, since the incident. Mary wanted to go check on them, make sure the girl was okay, but wasn’t sure where they were. They may have been in the women’s house being tended to by Angela, a former nursing student who lived at The Sanctuary. Wherever they were, it was surely under guard.  
    Mary was on her way back to Paola, but decided to find Linc instead. He may have grown distant, but Mary understood why. He’d grown quickly accustomed to life at The Sanctuary; that didn’t mean he would turn his back on any of them, especially since Desmond and Luca were being held, both because they were trying to save a little girl. Linc had tried to intervene in his own way, after all.  
    She found Linc standing guard at the front gate, alone.  
    Linc almost seemed like he’d been expecting her.  
    Mary spilled her guts, but kept her tears inside.  
    Linc listened to everything, then said, “I don’t know much right now, other than John and Luca are with Carl in the hole.”
    “The hole? When will they get out? Are they okay?”
    “Sorry,” he shook his head. “I don’t know. And I can’t really ask. None of the Brothers I talk to know a thing, and it’s not like I can ask Rei. He definitely doesn’t trust me. He sees me as one of you. No offense.” He met Mary’s eyes.
    “None taken,” she said.  
    Linc smiled, then continued. “At best, he thinks of me as no better than John, and I don’t think that’s any help to you at all.”  
    “No better than John?” Mary said, “I thought John was up there with The Prophet at the top of the chain of command.”  
    “Exactly,” Linc said. “John has the ear of The Prophet, and his trust. Rei doesn’t like it.” Linc lowered his voice to a whisper and stepped closer to Mary. “That’s just one of the things that makes the guy so dangerous. Rei’s totally out of control, Mary. If he’s not put under control, and soon, we’re all gonna pay. The Prophet is strict, sure, but at least he kept everyone safe. Strict as he was, he’d never allow a little kid to die. Rei said it was God’s Will, but if you ask me, we sure as hell didn't leave God with much of a choice.”  
    Linc looked around to check for any extra sets of ears before he continued. “Something’s happening, Mary. And it’s happening quick. I think Rei is planning something, maybe has been for a while. And I’m not sure whom I can trust, other than you all.”
    “What are you saying?” Mary asked, a new thundercloud of dread rolling into her mind.
    “I’m saying I don’t think it’s a coincidence that The Prophet has gone sick just after our arrival. I think we upset the apple cart and pushed Rei to speed up some plans he’s got brewing.”
    “What’s wrong with The Prophet?” Mary asked. “Do you know?”
    Linc shook his head. “No idea, but Brother Stephan said he was making some awful terrible sounds while he was on watch.”
    “What sort of sounds?”  
    “Loud, like he was choking on something. But they stopped right before Brother Stephan was about to head in. Brother Stephan knocked on the door and asked